Replacing deep fear with passionate desire

Posted by on Sep 13, 2013 | 0 comments

Fear is a powerful motivator. But what if we replaced it with our greatest desire?

A magic trick? Perhaps it is. So let’s do some magic…

Consciously we know when we’re afraid. Our hearts race. Our minds lock on a target. We see the “thing” that lives at the end of a dark hallway. The troll that claws at the metal under our bed. A person sneaks up behind us and “wham!”. Fists clench. Breath shortens. Eyes bug-out and widen. And we know we’re scared.

But fear also lives within us… behind the scenes. In this form it is not that we are afraid of something consciously, such as getting burnt by a hot stove, but instead we just find we don’t go near stoves again. Its unconscious. It drives us away from things that may have harmed us at one point, have some chance of generally being harmful…. but in actuality may never be. It is our own inner magic trick. “I swear I want to get into a new relationship. Huh….. I just guess its everyone else that’s crazy.”

This is of course what stops forward progression. Its debilitating. Its like the wizard in Oz, behind the curtain, pulling strings and pressing buttons and pushing levers. He’s very real, but it all seems like magic.

Every fear has some kernel of “good” for us. Something that would help us move forward. We may have a fear of heights, or of audiences, or of winged monkeys…..but they all have something to teach us.

When you are not afraid, not in a situation that is freaky, imagine the freaky situation and ask yourself. Simply sit down and begin to inquire..  “so…in the situation where I am normally stuck…. what am I afraid of happening?”. And you will have your first level answer. Follow it. “So if that happens… what am I afraid of happening?” And another answer. And then again….. “So, if that happens….”… and more and more. Following this sequence to the end. Till there are no more answers.

Funny though… when you reach the end you won’t find a fear lurking there…. but a desire. Something that you cherish. One (common) conclusion is simply your life. You reach the end and find that you cherish your life. So that is the place to now start.

Instead of a fear of something…. it is actually a caring for something. The difference in those words is the trick. If you care for something you treat it with regard, with respect, with desire for whatever it needs in the world to be its best. As you bring your creative mind to this thing you’ll find that you have no time for fear, but instead open up the possibility for what could be. Since you are starting from the simplest place possible, your cherishing of your life, there is nothing but more and more to come up with. Fear points us to what we care about. And lets just leave it at that. Once we know what it is that we care about we can make plans from that place and project those plans outward. You could take a child and lock it in its room for a lifetime…. out of fear. Or you can desire for it, and open it up to its own desires…. and teach it to go get them in a healthy and strong way. Whatever was “dangerous” before will practically go away, because… there isn’t time for it. It has been replaced by passion and fruition.

Go get it!

Join me for a deeper discussion on this topic on September 17th at 7Pm pacific time.

http://consciousjamradio.simplelander.com/

This is our first topic…. of so many to come. We’re going to have a good time.

So sign in, sign on, and learn more about your own evolution. Conscious Jam Radio.

 

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Posted by on Sep 4, 2013 | 0 comments

I just had to repost my post from facebook.

This is such a clear part of the work we do at SpiralKinetics. This is one of the reasons I created Spiral Kinetics:

Watch    :   http://tinyurl.com/k4z6acz

 

So that, whether you are a Man or a Woman… at age 80, 90, and more …you can continue to do all the things you enjoy.

Like this.

 

Wouldn’t that be great for us all?

 

 

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This is SpiralKinetics – Your very own Primer

Posted by on Aug 23, 2013 | 0 comments

Hi. You know me. I’m the guy who keeps talking about “Spiral Kinetics” online. An advanced exercise system. Kinda sweet name. But does it mean anything?

Maybe. Let’s explore it from its tiny, little, inception.

If you’re concerned with your fitness you are like me. You care about how you LOOK in your body, how you deeply FEEL in your body, and how you PERFORM in your body. They are ALL important. And they are all meaningful to our lives. When I worked as a trainer I watched the all the different types of techniques there were for health and fitness. They were all good…. but really one dimensional. Very linear. Very booooooring. I was personally so bored that I stopped working out completely for years so I could step back and just take a look at what was out there. None of it addressed the three things that I described above. Not directly anyway (sometimes it just happened through sheer luck). So I studied the problem. It just didn’t make sense to workout hard in one fashion…. and then use the body during the day in another. This seemed to be the reason so many people got injured. This was the discrepancy.

Then “functional” movement came along. This was BETTER! Alright…. everyone’s doing yoga and functional movement. Now I can….. Nope. This was still not right. We have a number of two dimensional movement systems now (some of them very old)….. but that cannot be the whole story. So I sat back again and waited (You’re getting of tired waiting with me….yeah? That’s how I was too).

Then I took a flight out to Saint Croix. One of those Virgin islands in the caribbean that you never want to return from. Here’s my advice…. do NOT fly standby. The ticket isn’t much cheaper and it can be a teriffic mistake. They can bump you for anything….. including looking like a Dodger fan. I did. So they bumped me for three days. It was actually spring break and my layover was in Puerto Rico. There was no way to get a flight back to the U.S.A…. so, being stuck with nothing to do…. in Puerto Rico (I know, you’ve not an iota of sympathy for me here) I began to experiment. I dove deep into our anatomy. How does a joint move? What are its possibilities…..? Not just what have I been told. And if I…. Ah ha! that was it. Suddenly there was a lot of writing and note taking. Most of the muscles in the body are built on diagonals. Not straight lines. So a three dimensional movement system began to crawl out from the womb (with a great tan).

When we move… We do not move in a liner fashion. The connections of the muscles are not central…. but medial or lateral in most cases. This means that the lines of pull are not central as well. Well now, how can we train this way?

This is the beginning of understanding Spiral Kinetics™. Our bodies want a full range of ability. The joints want three dimensional motion. Incredible physical therapists knew this and began teaching it. But… it had to come out of the closet, leave the clinicians office and become accessible to the mainstream. It needs to be an easy system that anyone can use to HONE their complete body and teach their muscles to move full and fluidly…. so they can feel complete.

This is one of the keys to this comprehensive movement system/Spiral Kinetics™. This complete use of the muscle in multiple dimensions. We teach you to use and exhaust the possibilities of each joint and then…. your body is simply ready for anything. And it looks it! I’ve designed it so it literally addresses the tips of your toes all the way to the top of your head.

So what does this all actually give you? Well….. the muscles pull the bones into alignment (or out of alignment if they are not properly programmed). So your entire body becomes more aligned. Your posture rights itself…. providing a stronger foundation for the muscles to ride on. This gives you greater strength and ability. When the bones are correctly aligned secondary muscles can relax. Oh yes…..Ahhhh…… getting rid of that tightness. Especially in your traps (shoulders). Frozen joints, muscle imbalances, movement with greater ease and efficiency, longevity, power… from nothing to intensity, and so much more. Because I didn’t stop there. There are many healing techniques in this system, and coaching methods to get you aligned with you, in a deeper way… including very specific techniques that “clean” your neurological system for greater ease, high focus and ability.

Why all this depth? Because I finally wanted one system that did it all. One that could be used in the real world and prove itself to help others. I call it the Future of Fitness.

Spiral…. Kinetics.

Any questions? 🙂 Email me … let’s begin the conversation.

Become part of the Thrivolution™

Like: https://www.facebook.com/SpiralKinetics

 

 

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Letting men down easy (for men and women)

Posted by on Aug 10, 2013 | 0 comments

Stalkers. They’re everywhere. After listening to so many women tell me that some guy they know won’t leave them alone I get that there’s a problem. My only question is… “Why do they keep coming to me?!!”

I’ve worked in and run men’s and women’s groups… so yeah, I may have some thoughts. But, so… I know about this?  Really?

If I help out the women now…. isn’t that like batting for the other team?

But the more I thought about this the more I considered it. In this situation we think its the women that are in trouble and the men are being aggressive and in control, and so only one party is getting hurt. But what is really going on? And who is winning?

She’s not winning. She doesn’t want anything to do with this relationship…. (anymore at least…. especially if she had been seeing him at some point). And he’s definitely not winning. She’s getting more and more turned off. So this is just not working for anybody.

There should be a way to get everyone thinking clearly here and get on the same page. She wants distance and …well… peace. He wants….. her of course. But even more important, he doesn’t want to look like a fool. So yes! I can help both teams here.

If you want to learn how to play this game go here:

http://takegiantsteps.simplelander.com/

…and sign in for the talk. Its starts on Tuesday August 27th 2013 at 7pm. All free. All me (with a little help from a friend).

But here’s a piece of it:

If you are a woman… get very clear on what you want. Before it all went “awry” what type of relationship… in detail… did you or do you want with this person. So many women I have dealt with just have a slight feeling around the relationship (or One-Big-Angry feeling)…. but have not put down – in detail – the type of relationship they want/had wanted with this person. Without definition there is wiggle room in many areas. Wiggle room that the guy can feel and is actually helping to draw him in closer that she would like.

Be very exact with your definition of the relationship, especially if it is getting “strange.” He will begin to feel your exactness and it will help provide direction. The more detailed the better. 

Come to the talk! There’s more. It’ll be fun and enlightening.

 

UPDATE: The talk was a success. Great questions and Austin Pick…. my interviewer was a delight and right on point.

The 4 stages of Letting a Man down easy were discussed and now the women on the call are ready to handle the situations so that everyone wins. Remember …. when you objectify him (“he’s an ass or idiot”) he objectifies you. And then everyone is playing the game. Don’t fall into this trap.

(Since this talk has already happened….  email me now if you want a gift copy of the recorded audio)

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Does evil live?

Posted by on Apr 28, 2013 | 0 comments

What is evil?

Our definition here is not iron clad. So many of them have come and gone through the ages. My own may differ from yours…. but I think this one may get close for most. And still, at the edges of the bell curve there is wiggle room and exactness may blurr.

Simply put, “evil” is the enacting of one’s values at another person’s expense. It is not only saying that something is highly important to “me”… but it is so important that I am willing to take from “you” to get it, taking away from your freedoms and rights as a human being.

We all have  needs, wants, and desires that we are willing to fight for. Things and ideals that we demand to have in and from our lives. Things that we long for and strive for. And that is the way it should be, especially within a capitalist society such as the U.S. where competition is a strong value of the system itself. There are special places within this society for direct competition, where zero-sum game mentality is the norm and the rule (such as sporting events). But when a person takes or infringes on another person’s rights to have what they need/want/desire beyond these specific arenas it reaches beyond striving. Together, the last four of the ten commandments speak as a testament to this. Whether it breaks the legal rules or not, in general if it is an act of taking for personal gain specifically at another’s detriment it is ultimately nefarious.

Certain personalities find it easier to spin into this trap. Their narcissistic or psychopathic vision of reality drives them to not only fight into each thing they want, but justify damages along the way. Other personalities are not so extreme and extol minor versions of this. They are not so easily swayed to such radical ideals, yet smaller ideals just like this creep in anyways. In all versions, the one doing the behavior somehow justifies their behavior, and those of us who are watching experience a visceral reaction when we see it. We can almost smell it…. and when we do, it stinks.

When “evil” is extolled consciously it is bad enough. But when it is unconscious it is even worse. In this type of scenario at one level, at the conscious level, it seems that the person is speaking from truth, honesty, goodness. They are coming from a higher, wiser place. But at a deeper level, a level even they cannot even see, they are pressing forward from some panicked fear that hides within them and, at times, a seething anger that is looking to protect it…. One that is looking to manifest outside in the world at large. They are often not even aware of their behavior. You may recognize these people through their damage and consequent excuses and, rare but possible, apologies. Constant patterns of behavior that do not change, regardless of their words that often endlessly seek to diffuse or sidestep what was done. It is with these people that you pay attention to actions, not words, to determine where they are coming from and how to procede with them. They appear to not know what they are doing. You must be the one that is more vigilant.

When that person steps this up to a higher level, looking to impart their ideals upon the world at large, to indoctrinate others into their “philosophy” we have an even greater reaction to it. We may want to take up arms against their actions (figuratively or sometimes literally)… but that only hurts us as well. The pains they cause others have us believing that the only way to “stop them” is to meet force with force. But there is a better way. There is always a better way, a more evolved way to handle situations. One that has us take into account both the other person’s conscious desires to do good, to be a “good person” (most people, even in extreme cases, wat to see themselves as “good”), and their drive to get what they want at other people’s expense. The purpose is to evolve. It is always to evolve. So helping them to evolve is where our actions and our path lies. Justice has its place… but only when held in evolved ways of thinking. Love and caring has its place… but only when held in the same regard.

Always look for this. The way forward that honors all parties, all of theirs and yours. This will lead you into a place where you will not be in hate, but in love, honoring yourself, while finding room for justice. Closing doors to the continuation of negative behavior while opening the door to greater understanding and caring. Both are incredibly important and the higher you go up the ladder of understanding the more skillful you will need to be to maintain both of them in grace. In many ways evil is just a misunderstanding of the self… and if and when the person finally sees it, finally knows it and understands that this has been a functioning of theirs, they are forever moved and changed. Humbled by their own humanity. This is what we hope for and move towards.

There are deeper ways to address this. Within yourself, if you may feel or have experienced an imbalance, or when dealing with others, to curtail the unwanted behaviors and be a greater force in their own growth. Whether in an individual environment, or between couple/partners/associates…. TakeGiantSteps has more to share and teach here. Contact me at lyric@takegiantsteps.com.

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The SpiralKinetic™ Body Series: Let’s get rid of joint pain

Posted by on Apr 8, 2013 | 0 comments

 

Joint Pain. Huge topic. This is a blog so I am not going to go after all the ways it manifests and dissolves. It can take a lot to get rid of it. There are systems, from foam rolling, to massage, to energy work that can help. If done correctly it can even go away… sometimes permanently. Check out the video:

These are the patterns we are looking for. They do keep us in a state of functioning, which is good, but not in a state of optimum health, excellence, and evolution, which is bad. Additionally, we must address these patterns BEFORE we dive into a joint to dissolve the complete injury. Begin to look into the methods that are out there. And do not go to one practitioner forever. If you had some healing and it plateaued with one practitioner leave and go to another. You want freedom from pain and freedom for movement. Don’t rest until you have it.

There is a system of moving through each level and layer that we use at TGS and SpiralKinetics. It not only cleans up your physicality  but your neurological fitness system as well. I can show it to you if you wish. Feel free to inquire – Lyric@takegiantsteps.com.

 

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How the self is allowed to evolve

Posted by on Apr 1, 2013 | 0 comments

A little more serious topic this week. We, at Take Giant Steps (and SpiralKinetics) like to talk about the self and its growth. The self as it becomes more. The self in “evolution.” When many of us think we understand what evolution means….. we create visions and versions of it. Conceptions in our minds and hearts that encapsulate what it means to be evolved. Sometimes this is profound, and sometimes it is problematic.

To some, being evolved is a deep dive into a high level of being special. Looking around at the most common ways that people are being and behaving then turning them aside for a harder but more advanced route. This way of looking at the evolution of the human self is exclusive. Differentiating between the evolving/evolved and the unconcerned. This parses people into the evolutionary “haves” and “have-nots”, which does not promote our growth, and instead curtails it. 

This is one of many of what I call “spiral traps”.

There are also moments when we experience an opening. What we call a “peak experience” that some workshop (or drug) bursts us at the seams maybe for the first time in our lives and has all our insides pour out and rain down on ourselves… leaving us feeling freer and grateful. We then often turn in the direction of the creators of this experience and decide that we will pursue the system/substance/person/community that facilitated this sense of liberation, often for the first time in our lives, in the hope and desire to find more of the same. This spirals us into another spiral trap.

Evolving is a commitment to ongoing growth, not exclusive of others or grasping onto the thing that caused it, but inclusive of all experience. Not just having patience for people and where they are in life but instead even “knowing” their experience as a part of your own… as a part of us all. Distinguishing between your personal path and anyone else’s is ultimately unimportant to the flow of evolution.

Evolving is also not holding fast to whatever opened you to your evolutionary self. It initially seems as exciting as a life-preserver to a drowning man… but quickly transforms into an anchor and holds us fast causing less evolutionary growth (even if it seems like growth and we can’t distinguish the difference at the time).

The one main criteria I always recommend is openness. Openness to becoming something more. To allowing something more to penetrate you. To keeping ongoing change in motion without looking to hold onto and force “change” itself. Its to continually transform your experience courageously, with humility, while reinforcing your  core. Its almost contradictory. To change and yet be build up and reinforced at the core. To be powerful and porous at the same time. Its almost as if we were molten metal and we were being casted into a sculpture…. there are moments when the metal is melted…and then the following moments when the metal is hardened. And it happens again and again. Melted and hardened, and melted and hardened …strengthening to become more and more and more.

Spiral traps are everywhere. They seem like growth, but then slowly, before we know it…. things stagnate and we are no longer within our growth.

Be in evolution. It is a very fine path. One that is highly prone to distractions. But being committed to it and opening to it is the priority and truest method to make sure you are on its ongoing ride.

And if you wonder aloud to yourself how you know when you have spiraled-in to a trap in your life or if you are on the true path and spiraling up… Whether you are on the fine line of your growth or off on some shiny tangent…. contact me. If the question is in your mind perhaps it’s really time to pursue it far more… along with another set of conscious eyes.

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Breathing Tip-ology

Posted by on Mar 25, 2013 | 0 comments

Welcome to the first step in breathing. Breath is a vast topic….. wide and deep. Yet we take it for granted or we are taught 2-3 things about it and then believe we understand it and let it do its thing in the background. Breathing….. is what you do every moment of every day. So it may kind-of be hugely important. Here’s a quick taste of some things to be aware of for your viewing edification:

 

 

As always… contact me for more information to learn more and MAXIMIZE your personal experience.

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Walk all over.. You.

Posted by on Mar 19, 2013 | 0 comments

I’ve got two recommendations for you right now…. Walk more, and Walk right! Both hugely important for  your health and, in ways you haven’t imagined, your evolution.

Let’s start with walk more. This is a subset of move more. Move. Very simple. Find excuses. Anywhere. Everywhere. Stand instead of sit. Walk instead of stand. Walk faster when you can. Chase a dog. Let a dog chase you. The more you’re on your feet the more fat you burn. The more you walk the more you keep your muscles intact, flowing, in lubricated operation. Its not going for a walk that is the key. Its being in a walking state as often as possible that makes the difference. Its the subtle movements in our life that make all the difference to our body. They are our fitness foundation. So what is your fitness foundation like right now? You find the time to be on your feet…. or on the seat?

Now that’s the simple. Here’s a bit more: Walking is a complicated collaboration of symphonic movement. From the lift of the foot, to its travel through the air, to its strike on the ground, and the sweep beneath your body… it is a series of choreographed contractions that give rise to your locomotion. Often this locomotion can be derailed by bad habits and patterns.

These show up in all our lower extremity pains. Ankles, knees, hips, toes, the bottoms of our feet, and even into our back, shoulders, and neck. Yep. All these body parts contribute to or diminish your walk, and if they are not dialed in correctly ….. we want to walk less.

See, its easy for someone (like me) to tell you to move more. Move more. But if there are aches, pains, discomforts, or internal fears of certain movement patterns you will instead find excuses to stop and sit. Anyone would. And that is where correcting movement patterns is vital.

Let’s take your left leg and foot for example. The toes, heal, knee, and hip. Each time you lift your left foot the pull of certain muscles within your  joints creates the action. But the creative wisdom of our bodies makes it possible for many linked muscles trains to actually accomplish this task. Too many. Variations of the movement that we see from the outside are born under the skin from mis-patterned muscles that you can’t imagine. All we need is one mispull on the kneecap…. and issues like chondromalasia patellae are off and running. Like the princess and the pea. In the short term this is safe. But over time…  the mis-patterning becomes discomfort. Discomfort becomes pain, and pain becomes injury. To add insult to this injury.. now what is your right foot and leg doing while all this is happening to the left? All this and more occurs during walking.

There is one optimal muscle train that does each job for us 100% correct. And that train is the thread of gold that we are looking for.

Not only does it save you from injury, pain, and discomfort…. but it actually is part of the SpiralKinetic™ foundation for evolution. When your body knows how to move in an optimal state…. you embody more of your you… every day. Your comfort inside of your skin, even if you are not feeling pain or discomfort in that instant, is vital for us to build on. Build a being that excels in all it does…. unimpeded by physiological distractions. 

So begin to pay attention to the way you walk. How you move. How your foot touches the ground. How you experience your gait. Take some time with it and slow down. Dissect it a bit. You may find some things that you didn’t realize were there…. under the skin… waiting for an injury to occur….  curtailing your joy for walking in the first place…. and stopping you from more of the daily movement that your body loves, craves, and rewards you for.

Hallelujah.

 

<This is exactly the work we do here (and more) at SpiralKinetics. Contact Lyric@takegiantsteps.com if you want to discover what is happening for you. Designing your next steps is our specialty.>

 

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The SpiralKinetic™ Body Series: Today’s star – The knee

Posted by on Mar 12, 2013 | 0 comments

Hello. Testing. Am I on? Oh, hi. I’m… the knee. Yes, I know. You havent heard from me before. I’m kinda low on the totem pole… so to speak. I only talk to you, some of you, when trouble is afoot (leg humor). When I have just had it with all the agendas, all the running around …. then I speak up and get some respect.

But most often I’m just cruising along here below your hip…. moving only in the sagittal plane. Bending extending, bending exten…. well… not really extending. Ok…. here’s my complaint. You dont ever really extend me. Its always this pseudo-kind-of extension. And then we go right back to bending again. You know what I’d like. What I’d really like?! Stretch the back of me. Oh yeah. Extend me completely. Open up the back of the knee so that my muscles there finally get some freedom. And not just when you’re doing a hamstring stretch. But when you are standing upright. That would be great.

Now, if you’re a person that hyperextends all the time or has an “issue” with one of us…. be careful. Try it slowly… easily…. and not too much. But I will tell you…. us knees…. really want this. Its kind of sexy for us. Strangely enough…. while the back stretches open more, the front closes off more. And muscles that were never shortening and contracting to their fullest in front now get to do just that. Ahhhh…… such joy when you help us out.

If you study us in more detail you’ll find that the distal end of the femur slides on the cartilage/meniscus that is on top of the proximal end of the tibia. If us knees never get completely straight…. we never slide completely into place. You’ll see examples of this when you watch someone walking in high heels and they look somehow “awkward”. So do us a favor…. and straighten those knees!  But never hyperextend us, be careful if you have any injury or pains, and be even incredibly more careful if you are working out with weights.

Alright. I’m done here. Just thought you knee-ded that.

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